


Hot Water

by Jewelfox



Series: A Pearl of my Own [5]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Aftermath of Gem Fusion, Aftermath of Torture, Angst, Bonding, Emotionally Repressed, F/F, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gem Fusion, Implied/Referenced Sex, Innuendo, Introspection, Ownership, Pearl Is A Repressed Nerd, Porn Watching, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Sex Talk, but we already know that
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-25
Updated: 2016-12-25
Packaged: 2018-09-12 01:07:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,612
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9049171
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jewelfox/pseuds/Jewelfox
Summary: "There are any number of things that romantic partners can do in the shower!" Pearl started ticking them off on her shaking hands. "We could ... we could bathe each other, or wash each other's hair, or shine each other's Gems!""So you don't want to have sex, then." I looked down at Pearl."I didn't say that!""Then what ARE you saying? Please tell me!"---While recovering from her fusion with Pearl, Lapis learns that a certain thing Amethyst knows how to do has Peridot all hot and bothered. Surely this thing would be much less scary and awkward to do with Pearl than becoming Moonstone again ... right? But as it turns out, everyone's favourite Repressed Nerd is repressed in more ways than one. Featuring four illustrations by Alias-Pseudonym!





	1. Delicious and Moist

**Author's Note:**

> If you're wondering when, exactly, Pearl and Lapis FUSED, start with part one of A Pearl of my Own: "Don't put me in charge!" Now updated with new and slightly kinkier cover art by Alias-Pseudonym. c:

_Illustrations by[Alias-Pseudonym.](http://alias-pseudonym.tumblr.com)_

I had never been so happy that Peridot had taken up gardening. Because for once, the barn was quiet and empty when I got back "home." And after spending the last hour as Moonstone, I  _really_  needed some time to myself.

I sat down in my armchair carefully, so as not to kick up too much dust. Then I laid back and closed my eyes, and tried to do that "mindfulness" thing that Stevonnie had shown me.

It wasn't very relaxing. Because all I could think about was fusing with Pearl.

 _How did we do that by ACCIDENT?_  I asked myself.  _What did we DO to each other while we were fused?! And how ... how did we ever manage to split off again?_

I knew  _how,_  of course. I just couldn't believe that we'd done it. Or how warm I felt, inside my Gem, knowing we had.

When I broke off from Malachite, it felt like I'd left a piece of myself behind. It was all I could do to distract myself from how broken and empty I felt, afterwards. And when I punched Jasper into the clouds -- and sank Steven's dad's boat, I guess -- I didn't feel strong inside, or like I'd  _really_  moved on from her. I was just afraid. Of myself, of her, and of what I'd become if I gave up on being Lapis again.

But when I fused with Pearl, it didn't feel like I was giving up on myself. Or sacrificing myself to a monster, the way I ... the way Malachite had made the watermelons do.

It felt more like being hugged. Like being accepted and trusted completely. I felt  _more_  alive, and more glad to be Lapis now, than I'd been before. And when I thought about Pearl asking me to pretend to own her, and the look on her face when I called her  _my_  Pearl, I couldn't stop myself from giggling.

Maybe I'd left a piece of myself behind, again. But I felt like I'd gained so much more in return.

It was too bad I hadn't been able to watch Pearl's whole training routine with Stevonnie. It was beautiful, seeing her parry and dodge and hold her own against a much larger Gem. And when I realized she'd fight for  _me,_  if she had to -- that it's exactly what she'd been doing, when we had fused -- I had to excuse myself. They were getting so into it, and I didn't want them to stop and see why I was crying.

So many Gems back on Homeworld had Pearls of their own. But I was the only one who had one that had chosen her.

* * *

I lazed in my chair for awhile, just letting the sights and sounds of late summer wash over my mind. The buzzing insects, the waving grass, the maniacal laughter in the distance as Peridot got a motor to work. I stirred my pool outside with one finger, slowly and evenly, and felt the leaves floating on top and the layer of sediment on the bottom.

At one point, a dragonfly landed on my nose. I just smiled at it, and held still until it flew off a minute later.

It occurred to me that I ought to thank Pearl. To let her know that I'd enjoyed myself, and that I wouldn't mind trying fusion again now that I knew I could stop. Fusion, or anything else she had in mind.

It felt so embarrassing, though! Like it was something I needed to hide, or my Diamond would catch me. I knew that no one would have shattered me, for having a tryst with my Pearl. But everyone would have  _talked_  about it, and made fun of the both of us. "What's next?" they would've asked. "Are you going to try  _kissing_  her?"

Maybe I would've kissed her right there, just to show that I could. The thought made me giggle again.

Then I sat up straight, and stared out at the horizon. What if Garnet and Amethyst were teasing Pearl  _right now?_  I didn't know how they could've found out, after Steven and Connie had sacrificed all those tomatoes to get to Moonstone before they did. But between Sapphire's future vision, and Amethyst's uncanny ability to just  _appear_ when Pearl and I were doing stuff, I knew that it wasn't past them.

I jumped out of my chair, and ran outside before flying up to the Warp pad. "Hey, Lapis!" Peridot yelled, and waved to me from the corn field. "Check out these cute little orange plants!"

"I can't!" I yelled back. "I have to save Pearl!"

"Okay!" she said. "Tell Amethyst I said hi!"

I touched down on the pad with both of my feet and one hand, and Warped out with my wings still outstretched.

I realized, inside the Warp tunnel, that if they  _weren't_  teasing her they probably would when I showed up. Was there any way I could sneak up on them?

Then I was standing inside of the beach house, and I heard Amethyst laughing and saw paper chains strung across the kitchen. Garnet was standing a few feet away from the Warp pad, and offered me a plate with something crumbly on it.

"Congrats on your fusion," she said. "Cake?"

* * *

There was an entire tray of the stuff, on the kitchen counter. Pearl was locking a plastic cover in place over it, and she jumped when she saw me. "Lapis!" she exclaimed. "I wasn't expecting-"

I leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. She blushed, and I smiled. "Is Amethyst giving you a hard time?" I asked.

I saw her glance over at the living room. I followed her eyes, and saw Amethyst holding up an entire tray of tiny food-things and pouring them into her mouth. She saw me, and gave me a thumbs-up.

"She's settled down for the moment, thankfully ... " Pearl took the cake to the fridge, and I held it open for her as she set it inside.

"But she  _was_  giving you a hard time," I finished for her.

"Well, yes." Pearl looked down at her feet.

I leaned in again, and whispered "Want me to throw her into the sun?"

"That would not be a good idea," Garnet said from behind me.

This time  _I_  jumped, and turned around to see her still holding the plate. "Oh! I'm sorry, Garnet, I-"

"You just forgot about everything when you saw your lovebird!" Amethyst finished for me, and stretched her arm out to grab the slice of cake off the plate that Garnet was holding.

I blushed. "Something like that."

Garnet did not flinch, or even turn to look. "Amethyst, what did I tell you about teasing Lapis?"

"'Don't?'"

"Exactly."

"Sooo, P!" she said, sidling up beside Pearl instead. "Are you gonna move into that barn with her? Me and Peri can help make it  _symmetrical_  for ya!" Amethyst flexed one arm.

"Peridot says hi!" I timidly broke in.

"Garnet says hi, too," Garnet told me. "Now, have a seat."

I sat down on the living room couch, my hands clasped in front of me. Garnet set the empty plate on the kitchen counter, then sat down a cushion away from me.

"So ... " I began, and looked away from my Pearl and Amethyst.

"So," Garnet repeated.

"Where's Steven?" I asked, looking up at her.

"He just left, to see Connie to the bus stop. But that's not what you wanted to ask me."

I blushed, and stared down at the hem of my skirt. I  _had_  been wanting to talk, now that Garnet knew about Moonstone. "Can I speak with Sapphire for a minute?" I asked.

"Anything you have to say to her, you can tell me."

"I think I know how she felt now," I blurted out. "I think I understand why she grabbed Ruby and ran."

"You don't," she said, matter-of-factly. "But you're getting closer."

I blushed even more, at that and the conversation going on in the kitchen. Pearl didn't seem upset, at least. "Well, I know what it would've been like for her if she'd stayed. They wouldn't have taken her seriously after that. Any time someone looked at her, they'd just see ... well, they'd see you."

Garnet smiled. "They were just jealous."

"I know!" I started gesturing with my hands, as I tried to figure this out. "I know that now."

Garnet nodded.

"What I don't understand is, why didn't anyone  _realize_  that? They didn't have to be jealous! They could've just done it themselves."

"They could have. But they would've lost everything."

"It's the Diamonds, isn't it?" Now I was leaning towards Garnet, and putting one hand on the back of the couch while gesturing with the other. "They can't admit that a loving relationship is-"

I remembered hollowed out worlds with miniature suns inside. Spires that reached to the moons. Geometrically perfect shapes, demolished for even the slightest scratch. And the terrified looks on the faces of Gems in Blue Quadrant, even on Quartzes, as they saw the one Lapis Lazuli who didn't belong there. As they watched what happened to me.

I sighed, and sank back down onto my cushion. "That it's better than anything they want to build."

"Something tells me you're right, Lapis. But that's something you'd have to ask the Diamonds." Garnet smiled faintly at me.

"Maybe I will," I said, and clenched my fists. Remembering the time Blue Diamond had fled from Pearl right in front of me ... and the way we'd roleplayed standing up to her, as Moonstone. "Maybe I will."

* * *

"Come back any time, Lapis." Pearl hugged me tight, next to the Warp pad. "And feel free to bring Peridot!"

I smiled. "No offence, Pearl, but Moonstone was right. We really do smell like we live in a barn."

"Yes, well, I do too now." Pearl smiled back, shyly.

"Still want to take a shower together?" I asked.

"Me? I thought you were the one who suggested that!"

"Then maybe we both do. You'd have to show me how, anyway."

We both smiled and blushed and looked away, until I finally glanced back up at her. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow?"

"The day after tomorrow. I have to watch Steven, while Greg and Amethyst go to a concert." Pearl's eyes lit up. "I've already picked out a puzzle for us to work on!"

Part of me wanted to help. But then, part of me also knew I'd end up making out with her on the couch, and I didn't think it'd be appropriate to do that in front of Steven.

"Sounds like fun," I said, and stepped backwards onto the Warp pad. "The day after tomorrow, then. Later!" I waved.

"Goodbye,  _owner!"_  Pearl winked at me as she waved back.

I waited until the beach house vanished before blushing hard and hugging my sides, as I kicked my feet in the Warp and squeed as loud as I wanted to.


	2. Tiny and Soft

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peridot gives Lapis Lazuli an idea.

What was it like to be human, I wondered?

I was laying back on the roof, on the cushion that Steven had brought me when I'd said it was hard to look at the clouds with this Gem on my back. It had armrests and an indent for my head, and it looked like half of a light blue armchair.

Obviously, I thought, they didn't have to worry about their Gem getting in the way. And they didn't seem to mind eating, or sleeping, or having a very short lifespan, despite looking a lot like us. I guessed they just had to get used to it; I probably would, too, if I were human.

I'd probably also be okay with not having a purpose. It wasn't like I was ever going to fulfill mine. And if I'd been made human, I would've had years to get used to the idea, and come up with something on my own.

The biggest difference, I thought, as the cloud I was watching obscured Earth's star, is that they can't fuse.

Well ... except Connie.

And Steven. He was at least part human, right?

And ... Greg? I asked Steven once how, exactly, Rose Quartz had turned into him. He'd blushed, and said Greg "kind of" fused with her. But that didn't make any sense, because Greg was still here.

I winced, and shook my head. Humans were complicated.

At least  _most_  humans didn't have anything as embarrassing as fusion, I thought. They'd never have people look at them and see only what they had done. They didn't have to deal with the memories, of being so intimate with another person that the two of you become something else. Of feeling the two of you draw closer and closer together, until it just  _happens_  and it's amazing and scary and ... and beautiful.

And then you get teased about it.

They didn't have anything like that ... right?

* * *

I stayed up there until the sun set, letting my mind wander and process what'd happened. Being Moonstone had taken a lot out of me, and I didn't know how Pearl could handle being that worried about what everyone thought. I knew what  _she_  did to unwind, but what would  _Moonstone_  do?

I guess I was looking forward to fusing again, because I kept asking myself that about  _everything._  What would she make of the aquarium? How would she see Peridot? Could she hold still long enough to read, or watch TV? I felt like I had an idea of how she would feel, but there was so much that I still didn't know about her.

Or Pearl.

 _Maybe I should get to know her better before we try this again,_  I thought.  _What else could we do together?_

The grass-eater roared past me on the ground, interrupting my train of thought. I kept trying to concentrate, but it was no use; the thing Peridot had made so she could use the "Worldwide Web" was just too noisy.

I didn't want to get up, though. So I rolled onto my side and covered my ears, annoyed at the sound and wishing she'd turned on the TV instead.

Finally I sighed, and got up to go into the barn where it was quieter. So I hopped down from the roof ...

... and landed in a heap, wincing and rubbing my legs as I stood back up. I felt like my body had just betrayed me. Why hadn't that w-

Oh. Right.  _Moonstone_  could jump down from heights, but  _I_  had to use my wings instead. I frowned at myself, before dusting myself off.

I headed around the corner and inside the barn, once I'd pulled the grass clippings out of my hair. My movements felt slow and clumsy, and I was annoyed and self-conscious about it. I guessed  _I_  only saw Moonstone now, when I looked at myself.

 _Well, that's wrong,_  I thought, trying to psych myself up before looking around for my roommate.  _I'm Lapis Lazuli. I'm not Moonstone, and I'm not incomplete without Pearl. I am NOT just one half of a fusion._

_Because unlike Sapphire, I-_

Wait. Where  _was_  Peridot, anyway? The lights she'd connected were on, but the barn looked empty. And the armchair I sat in earlier was turned away from the entrance, instead of facing it like normal.

"Peridot?" I asked, just as the grass-eater buzzed past and blew a cloud of green clippings at me.

I coughed and brushed them off, moving quickly towards my chair so I'd be out of that thing's range. "Peridot, that ... uh, morp, of yours is kind of-"

"ACK!" Peridot jumped as I got up next to the chair, spinning around to face me. She was blushing hard and clutching her tablet to her chest, so that I couldn't see the screen.

I gave her a look that was even more confused than usual. "Peridot, what are you-"

"I was not looking up pictures of humans fusing with each other!" she blurted out.

" ... wait, what?"

"Okay, fine. I was." She slumped back into the chair, still blushing and hugging her tablet.

"I didn't know humans could fuse." I wasn't sure what else to say. "Can I see?"

"N-NO!" Peridot jumped again, and blushed even harder. "I mean ... um ... "

I glanced over to where the grass-eater was spitting stuff out near the entrance, and considered chancing it and then coming back later.

Peridot gulped. "You've done ...  _things,_  with Pearl. Right?"

Now  _I_  jumped, and stared at her. "How did  _you_  know?!"

I think she was staring to sweat. "Amethyst said you were-"

"Oh, great." I blushed at least as hard as Peridot was. "She told you everything, then?"

"I ... guess so?"

"Wonderful." My Gem suddenly felt about ten times heavier. "Move over, Peridot. I need to sit down."

She climbed up onto one arm of the chair, and I just flopped down on its seat, feeling exposed and defeated.

Peridot was still holding her tablet where I couldn't see it, but she gave me a concerned look. "Lapis, are you okay?"

"I'm fine!" I tried to look reassuring for her. "I just ... can't believe all that's happened. Or how  _quickly_  it's happened." I winced. "Or who it was with."

"Did she hurt your feelings?"

"No! I mean, it's just ... "

I tried to remember if I'd told Peridot about being stuck inside of Pearl's Gem, and how that complicated my feelings for Pearl. Then I remembered Peridot pressing buttons on that screen of hers, and making the icy-hot  _thing_  I was strapped to do painful things to my Gem. Her face had been cold and impassive, as I was forced to relive my worst memories in the pool of water in front of me.

It seemed so far away now. It was like it'd happened to a different person.  _Peridot_  seemed completely different now, too; she even looked different, without her limb enhancers. But I guessed she was still the same Gem who had done that to me ...

... and I guessed that I didn't need to tell her about being Pearl's mirror.

She must have noticed I was starting to shake. "Did  _I_  hurt your feelings?" she asked, and sounded like she was about to cry. "I can go, if you-"

"No! It's not that." I shook my head quickly. "I just ... " I sighed. "I could really use a hug right now."

Peridot used to let me cling to that stuffed toy of hers, when I was having a bad night and couldn't stop thinking about being Malachite. But it'd been floating in the aquarium for the past few weeks, so I guessed she would have to do. Despite everything.

"O-okay ... " Peridot climbed down onto the seat next to me, and set her tablet aside. Then she put her arms around my side carefully, like she was afraid that she'd break me.

I pulled her partway into my lap and squeezed her tight, and she made a sound like she was gagging. I didn't care, because I couldn't. I needed the pressure and reassurance. And after a second or two, she hugged back.

Her tiny body was warm and soft.

I finally let go of Peridot, and slumped back in my chair. "Thanks," I told her.

"Y-you're welcome!" She was blushing  _incredibly_  hard now, looking away and scratching the back of her head with one hand.

"So." I turned my head to look down at her. "How do humans fuse, in those pictures?"

"Well, they don't exactly  _fuse_  per se." I didn't think Peridot could look any more embarrassed, but somehow she did. "They do this thing where they, um ... "

I just kept looking at her, and listening.

Peridot started pressing her fingers together nervously. "They exchange fluids with their taste receptors, and then they ... um ... "

"Yes?"

" ... exchange fluids in other places?" Her voice trailed off into a squeak.

I winced. "Maybe you'd better show me the pictures."

"A-are you sure?!" Peridot clung to her tablet. "These morps are very ... they're ... "

I waited a few seconds for her to finish the sentence, but she couldn't. I felt bad for her now, but I was too curious not to look.

Peridot sighed. "Here," she finally said, and handed me her tablet while looking as far away as possible.

I held it up in both hands, not used to its size or weight, and squinted at the picture on it. "Why is she sticking her face there?"

Peridot fidgeted. "I guess the other human tastes good?"

I considered the screen for another few seconds. "How do I see another?" I finally asked.

"Here, let me do it ... " I could feel her tug gently with her powers, so I let go of the tablet and it drifted into her grasp. Peridot swiped at its screen a few times, before handing it back to me.

This morp was even more confusing. "Do some humans have bodies made of light?" I asked her.

"I don't  _think_  so ... "

"Then how can they bend like that?"

"Maybe it's 'special effects.'" She made air quotes with her fingers.

I turned the tablet sideways to look at it from a different angle, but the thing it was showing turned with it. I gave up and handed Peridot the tablet again, confused. "I'm not seeing how this is like fusion."

"You're not?" Peridot sounded bewildered. "So you don't ... I mean, you can't ... " She stood up and gestured at her hips, giving me this desperate look that said  _please don't make me explain this._

"I guess not?" I looked up at her, confused. "Peridot, are you okay?"

She flopped back down next to me, her arms folded tightly around her tablet. "No."

"What's wrong?"

"Amethyst has been teaching me how to shapeshift." She winced.

"Peridot, that's great! Now you can go on that roller coaster together." I smiled for her.

"No, it's not!" She looked terrified. "Now when I look up fanfiction, I feel ... "

"Yes?"

 _"Things!"_  She gestured at her hips again. "And Amethyst said I could  _do things_  with her, and I thought you had  _done things_  with Pearl, but now I guess you haven't so I can't ask you about them and  _Lapis this is really scary!"_  She whimpered.

I awkwardly patted her hair back down. "Um, we've fused if that's what you mean ... "

"Wait,  _what?!"_  Peridot recoiled and stared at me. "When did  _that_  happen?"

Now  _I_  blushed, and looked away. "A few hours ago."

Peridot jumped out of the armchair, and scrambled up into some boxes before coming out with her fusion chart and some crayons. "What kind of Gem were you? What did she  _look_  like?"

"We were a Moonstone," I told her. "She looked kind of like ... well, like Pretty Magical Soldier Luna, except taller."

Peridot scribbled madly on her chart, holding it up to one of the boxes so she could draw on it. "Nyeh heh heh," she giggled to herself.  _"Nyeh_  heh heh heh heh!"

I blushed harder, and winced.  _At least that got her to stop being scared,_  I thought.

 _"I_  still think you should fuse with Garnet," she said, as she put her revised chart away. "But it's a start!"

"Why do you keep trying to ship me with Garnet?" After hearing Peridot rant about  _Camp Pining Hearts_  'fan fiction' so much, I was pretty sure I knew what that word meant.

"Because she's the strongest Crystal Gem!" Peridot threw her arms up in the air.

I smiled. "No, she's not. Pearl is."

Peridot scrunched up her face, and let her arms drop back down to her sides. "If you say so ... "

I glanced back down at her tablet. Curious now, I swiped my fingers across it the way she had.  _This_  morp was of Percy and Pierre "exchanging fluids" in the camp showers. "Peridot, do humans do this not-fusing thing when they shower together?"

"At least fifty percent of the time! According to my intensive study." She hurried back up to me. "Why do you ask?"

I held up the tablet, considering it. If Amethyst was inviting Peridot to 'do things' with her, as Peridot put it, then this was  _probably_  something she considered fun, like role-playing bondage. And I'd seen how Amethyst acted around Pearl, so it seemed likely that Pearl knew how to 'do things' as well.

Maybe she was hoping that I would.

"Peridot, I need you to help me with something." I was still studying the tablet.

Peridot jumped backwards, and pointed at it. "You want  _me_  to help you with  _that?!"_

"Yes. But not like that." I set it aside, and looked down at her. "It's something I want to get ready for Pearl ... "


	3. Messy and Surprisingly Deep

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pearl, Lapis, and Amethyst work on a puzzle.

It took me and Peridot all of that night and the next day to get things ready for Pearl. She worked on the mechanical stuff, while I did the heavy lifting and made sure all the fish were okay.

Once I'd taken care of them, I borrowed Peridot's tablet and curled up on the loft couch with it. (I would have just used the armchair, but for some reason it was smellier and stickier than usual.)

I spent hours looking up "fan fiction," and morps of naked humans. When I wasn't sure what a word meant, I typed it in the way Peridot showed me. There were a  _lot_  that I had to do that with, even words that I thought I knew but had double meanings.

On the night of the second day, Peridot finally finished getting the pipes into place. She staggered up to the loft and climbed onto the couch next to me, and I handed her the tablet. "I think it's thirsty," I told her.

Peridot groaned. "Amethyst wants me to come over tomorrow. And visit  _her room._  So the tablet's not the only thing that's thirsty."

"Should I look up that word, too?"

Peridot just sighed and flopped onto her back, exhausted.

* * *

The next day, Pearl invited me over to work on a "puzzle" with her and Steven. "We forgot all about it in the excitement of yesterday," she lamented, while sitting on the couch and digging through a box full of cardboard pieces.

"What happened yesterday?" I asked. I was studying the picture on the front of the box. For some reason, it didn't have the squiggly lines on it that the puzzle did.

"Pearl outran the cops," Steven exclaimed, "and we went to a concert, and she introduced herself to a lady with pink hair!"

"Congratulations! I think." I didn't know what most of that meant, but Steven seemed excited, while Pearl looked embarrassed. I smiled reassuringly for her. "It sounds daring."

"Yes, well." Pearl straightened out her skirt and sash. "I have been known to be 'daring,' before. And her name is 'S.' She gave me her phone number and everything!"

"Dad's gonna get her a phone so she can call her." Steven held up a cardboard piece and squinted at it, before looking at me. "Oh, Lapis! Should I ask him to get you one too?"

"I guess so? I'm not sure what they're for."

"A 'telephone' is a human communications device," Pearl explained for me. "I haven't needed one in Beach City, since everything here is within walking distance. But I think that 'S' expects me to call her." Pearl grinned sheepishly. "Maybe she wants me to ask her out on a date!"

"Sounds like fun." I smiled at Pearl, remembering what 'dates' were. "So are you going to have sex with her?"

Pearl gasped and covered Steven's ears with both hands, staring at me wide-eyed.

"Heh heh ... look at the time!" Steven said, wriggling free of Pearl's grasp. "I think I left my, uh, wallet at Funland. Be back in an hour!" He gave me a nervous grin as he ran out the door, his cheeks burning.

I looked between him and Pearl, my face flushed blue with ice water. "Did I say something wrong?" I asked.

"Well. Um ... " Pearl straightened out her clothes again. She had to be blushing as hard as I was. "That's sort of a ... it's a very ... that is to say, I-"

"You think I shouldn't have said the word 'sex' in front of Steven because he's a child." I lowered my head, and clasped my hands together tightly. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize he was that young."

"That's not it at all!" Pearl sat down closer to me, and put her hand over mine. "Lapis ... " Her next word sounded like it got stuck in her throat for a second. "Sex is a very personal thing. It's not something one talks about in front of just anyone. One has to be sure of the comfort levels and ... and  _maturity_  of everyone present."

"So that  _was_  it, then." I looked up at her.

"Well, not  _exactly_  ... " Pearl looked away from me, and cringed. "It's more that I don't think he's ... he's ... "

"Ready?" I offered.

"Exactly! I don't think he's  _ready_  to listen to you talk about me having sex with S. It paints a vivid picture in one's mind." Pearl gave me a sheepish grin.

"Oh." I looked away from her for a moment, trying to figure this out. I'd thought humans  _liked_  seeing pictures of sex acts. "So when you and I have sex with each other, I shouldn't tell him about that either?"

Pearl recoiled, and made a weird gagging sound as she stared at me. Her arms were pressed to either side of the couch like she was trying to steady herself.

A chill wave of ice water swept through me.

"I'm sorry," I said, standing up and holding my arms to my sides while looking away from Pearl. "I thought it might be something you're into. That I should be ready for." I looked away nervously. "I mean, I thought when you asked me to shower, you meant-"

"There are  _any number of things_  that romantic partners can do in the shower!" Pearl started ticking them off on her shaking hands. "We could ... we could bathe each other, or wash each other's hair, or shine each other's Gems!"

"So you don't want to have sex, then." I looked down at Pearl.

"I didn't say that!"

"Then what  _are_  you saying? Please tell me!" I held my arms out at Pearl. "Do you want me to make it an order?" I hated the thought of bossing her around, but I thought that maybe she'd listen to her "owner."

Pearl started wringing her sash in her hands, looking away from me and shivering. "I ... I don't-"

There was a flash of light around the corner, and the familiar sound of the Warp pad. A second later, I heard Amethyst's voice. "Soooo, Peri! Are ya ready for some hot an' heavy lovin'?"

Pearl blushed furiously. I wondered how many times she'd gotten this "lovin'."

"M-maybe?" Peridot squeaked. A second later, I heard the door to Amethyst's room open.

"Awesome! So, here are the rules for sexin' it up with your favourite Gem.

"Rule number one: The safeword is 'red.' No matter what happens, just say 'red' and we'll stop and can do something else."

So  _that_  was where Pearl had gotten it.

"Rule number two: COMMUNICATE. If ya don't tell me what you like, then I can't do it for you! Or shapeshift into it."

Pearl looked like she was ready to sink inside of the couch cushions.

"An' finally, the most important rule: HAVE FUN. You got all that, Peri?"

"I-I think so!"

"That's good, 'cause  _here! We! GO!"_  A moment later, I heard the door to Amethyst's room shut.

Pearl silently fidgeted with her hands, and looked down at them without moving.

I sat down on the couch next to her, and reached up to lightly brush her hair and stroke her Gem.

Pearl shivered, and then closed her eyes before speaking. "Yes, Lapis. I would like to have sex with you. At least just to try it."

"Are you sure?" I asked, my hand still on her hair.

She nodded, and I moved my hand down to hers.

I tried to remember what it felt like to be Moonstone. What she would've thought of all this. "Was this something you did with Rose?" I asked.

Pearl shook her head slowly.

"So Amethyst got you into this."

It wasn't a question, but to my surprise Pearl shook her head again. "I wanted to know what I was missing out on," she explained. "What Rose was getting from Greg that I couldn't ... that she wouldn't  _let_  me give her. Amethyst was the most experienced, so I asked her."

I guessed Rose was "heterosexual."

"What was it like?" I asked, before realizing that might be too personal.

"It's  _horribly_  embarrassing." Pearl cringed, and looked farther away. "It's not always soothing, like touching Gems is. It's usually intense, vivid, passionate! One can lose oneself in it completely."

"So it's like fusion," I offered.

"Y-yes, Lapis. I guess you could say that." Pearl blushed. "It's a lot messier, though."

I grinned. "No wonder Amethyst likes it."

Pearl laughed a little too loudly. "No wonder, indeed!"

"Do you still want to try it with me, then? I mean, if we shower then we can clean each other off afterwards."

"What part of our bodies would we use for  _that?"_  Pearl grinned back at me, and it took me a second to realize that was innuendo.

I didn't know what a sexy comeback would be, so I just answered it normally. "Whatever you want," I said. "As long as you like it."

"Alright then, Lapis." Pearl stood up and offered me her hand, smiling nervously down at me. "Let's try it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember how I promised that this story would be rated Explicit? I lied. c: The talky bits completely pushed out the sexy bits! And I don't mean that the way that it sounds.
> 
> On the plus side, now people who are uncomfortable with porn can still follow Pearl and Lapis' deepening relationship, and I can make the next story as explicit as I want. Everyone wins! Now if you'll excuse me, I need a cold shower.


End file.
